Political Quotes

“When we look at this economy, we should ask: What would Ronald Reagan do? When he took office in 1981, President Reagan inherited an economy in deep recession. During the past 3 years, we've heard a number of current Republicans laud the accomplishments of Ronald Reagan in spurring economic recovery during that decade. As they often point out, President Reagan cut taxes. Of course, so did President Obama. The Recovery Act, which I proudly supported, cut taxes for 95 percent of all Americans, averaging $400 for individuals and $800 for families. When that tax cut expired--and when Republicans refused to extend it--I was again proud to join President Obama to enact the payroll tax cut, averaging $1,000 per family. But tax cuts alone do not make a robust recovery. The other notable thing Ronald Reagan did was preside over a Nation with a sharp increase in public sector employment from local, State, and Federal levels. Because, while today's Republicans may try to argue otherwise, teaching jobs are jobs; firefighters have real jobs; police jobs are jobs. In fact, three of the last four economic recoveries had one thing in common: public sector employment increased. Two and a half years into the recovery from 2001, total public sector employment was 1 percent higher; 2\1/2\ years into the recovery from the 1980 recession, total public sector employment was 3 percent higher.…”